If you ask fans of the Chicago Bears, most will likely point to linebacker Tremaine Edmunds as one of GM Ryan Poles' most underwhelming signings. Edmunds signed a hefty four-year, $72 million contract with the Bears in 2023, but in two seasons, he has failed to live up to such lofty standards, which makes his contract look like a huge swing-and-a-miss.
So it may come as a shock to many Bears fans to see that Dalton Wasserman of Pro Football Focus recently ranked Chicago's linebacker corps as the 14th best in the NFL, four spots ahead of the Green Bay Packers. Justifying this ranking, Wasserman has this to say regarding Edmunds: "The Bears will be hoping for a bounce-back campaign from their two highly paid veteran linebackers. Tremaine Edmunds hasn’t been able to reach the heights of his outstanding 2022, when he earned an 81.9 PFF overall grade. In two seasons with Chicago, Edmunds has posted a below-average 57.5 PFF overall grade."
Wasserman didn't forget about T.J. Edwards and his regression in 2024, either, writing: "T.J. Edwards played very well in 2023 but notched a career-worst 60.7 PFF overall grade last season. New defensive coordinator Dennis Allen will need to extract better production out of the pair, considering the lack of experience behind them."
Count me among those who do expect a big bounce-back year for both linebackers. Playing the last two years in an outdated, bland defensive scheme has left Edmunds and Edwards unable to truly shine as they have elsewhere. Lining up in Dennis Allen's scheme, which is far more aggressive, should bring out the best versions of themselves and potentially save them from the trading block.
More concerning to me for Chicago's linebacker group is the backups behind Edmunds and Edwards. Jack Sanborn, the undrafted fan-favorite from Wisconsin, was allowed to leave in free agency (he has since signed with the Dallas Cowboys, which, ironically, is where former head coach Matt Eberflus now coaches). That means the likely third and fourth options at linebacker are Noah Sewell, who has yet to play meaningful minutes in his two seasons, and rookie Ruben Hyppolite II.
If either Edmunds or Edwards has to miss any time in 2025, Chicago's linebackers could be in big trouble unless either Sewell or Hyppolite takes an unexpected leap.
